This invention relates to an apparatus and process for treating waste-containing liquor wherein organic waste containing liquor is purified by bacterial treatment.
Various apparatus are already known for purifying waste-containing liquor by bringing such liquors into contact with a bacterial culture. One such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,563,888 in which waste-containing liquors are circulated in a vertical direction through a container filled with a porous filter media having bacterial cultures growing thereon. Another example is the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,732,160 in which a plurality of stationary filter media, horizontally fixed and appropriately spaced apart inside a purifying tank, are provided to promote contact between the waste material in the liquor and bacteria on the filter media. The system provides for purifying the waste-containing liquor by circulating and recirculating it between the filter media in the purifying tank. With waste liquor treatment apparatus of this type, however, the bacteria tend to multiply rapidly and thus fill up the space between filter media which causes an increase in the hydraulic resistance of the waste-containing liquor and, at times, mechanical plugging of certain portions of the space between filter media. As a result, the flow rate of the waste-containing liquor diminishes and and this, in turn, results in a decrease in the amount of oxygen supplied to the bacteria and with it an attendant decrease in the frequency of contact between the bacteria and the waste material in the waste-containing liquor. The over-all efficiency of the purifying treatment is thereby decreased.
The apparatus and method of the present invention are directed towards overcoming the drawbacks as mentioned above. The device is illustrated and described in more detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments and attached drawings.